“President Obama’s struggle to prevent Senate Democrats from backing strict new sanctions that could upend his diplomatic efforts is casting a long shadow over talks with Iran.” [NYT]

“The Assad regime is gaining ground as it takes advantage of infighting between Syrian opposition groups, in a sign of how the rise of extremists could tip the balance in the three-year-old civil war.” [WSJ]

“One month after Congress passed a two-year budget deal, leaders have struck a compromise allocating over $1 trillion to fund the government for the next year.” [TIME]

“About 1.8 million people enrolled in new individual health plans through the law in December, bringing new enrollments through Dec. 28 to about 2.2 million…The figures released Monday indicate that the pace of enrollment among young people needs to accelerate…” [TIME]

“The coal-processing chemical that cut off the water supply to 300,000 West Virginians is one of tens of thousands of potentially hazardous substances that have fallen through a decades-old loophole in federal regulations, leaving authorities with little information on what dangers it poses.” [Politico]

“Votes are set for Tuesday in the Senate on the jobless aid package as a small group of key Republican senators emerged as a potential voting block that could form a coalition for compromise with Democrats…The GOP package Monday would extend jobless aid for three months, meeting their party’s insistence that costs be fully paid for with cuts elsewhere in the budget.” [L.A. Times]

If You Want Obama to Rein In the NSA, You’re About to Be Disappointed [National Journal]

“The Weather Channel just got rained on by DirecTV. The satellite broadcaster, one of the nation’s biggest pay-TV distributors with over 20 million subscribers. stopped carrying the Weather Channel as of midnight eastern standard time.” [Chicago Tribune]